TRACE's Global Enforcement Report 2018.

The latest report on global corruption enforcement from TRACE International shows the number of foreign bribery enforcement actions by the U.S. has increased by 50 percent over last year, while the number of investigations by Europe has grown so much that they now account for more than half of all foreign bribery probes.

TRACE's 9th annual Global Enforcement Report is a country-by-country look at government-led investigations into suspected bribery allegations, offering general counsel a better understanding of global trends. Annapolis, Maryland-based TRACE provides risk management solutions to more than 500 multinational companies.

The report says in 2018 the U.S. undertook a total of 25 enforcement actions, a notable increase over the 16 in the previous year, but less than the U.S. record of 31 enforcement actions set in 2016.

One takeaway for general counsel from this year's report, according to Robert Clark, TRACE's manager of legal research, is that “bribery is an issue with which the world remains highly engaged. The need for businesses to remain attentive to the possibility of corrupt activity within their ranks and by their representatives isn't decreasing.”

The report also shows the financial services industry remained the most heavily investigated by U.S. agencies, accounting for some 17 percent of all foreign bribery probes. While in other jurisdictions, the focus remained on the extractive industries, engineering and construction; and aerospace, defense and security. Outside the U.S., financial services accounted for only 6 percent of open investigations.

Clark said general counsel should understand that while some industries “have an outsize presence on the enforcement charts, the breadth of industries is wide, and it would be wrong to think that operating in a relatively 'clean' line of business would provide a guarantee of protection against scrutiny and punishment for misbehavior.”

Clark explained there are several possible reasons for the rise in the number of financial service cases, and “probably most obvious is the leading position the U.S. holds in the banking industry worldwide.”

Clark added that the U.S. can be considered a leader in enforcement, and “with the increasing degree of cross-border cooperation, it wouldn't be surprising to see the trend of increased financial services investigations take hold elsewhere.”

But at least one expert cautions against reading too much into the increased numbers. Jeffrey Klink, a former federal prosecutor who is now CEO of global risk consultancy Klink & Co. Inc. in Pittsburgh, said, “It doesn't surprise me, but it doesn't necessarily mean there's more corruption or bribery in that sector.”

Klink explained that perhaps the government had a bank case that led to other defendants and other cases. “It's just kind of where the leads are right now,” he said, and that could change next year.

Klink also said the number of open European investigations seemed high to him. “It's not shocking, but I'd be curious how many cases actually will be brought and resolved. I think the U.S. will wind up indicting and convicting more people.”

In fact, the report shows that from 1977 through 2018, the U.S. has the strongest enforcement record with 67 percent of all enforcement actions for bribery. Europe took enforcement actions in 27 percent of the cases. And in the past four years the number of non-U.S. enforcement actions has lagged considerably behind the U.S.

Other findings in the report include:

• In total, there were 303 open investigations of alleged bribery of foreign officials by Dec. 31, 2018. The U.S. was conducting 107 probes, followed by the U.K. with 47 and Germany with 25.

• The Asia Pacific region also showed an increase, with 9 percent of all ongoing investigations.

• Of 86 countries conducting investigations concerning alleged bribery of their own domestic officials, Brazil was conducting the most, followed by India, China and Nigeria.

• Of 43 countries where U.S.-based companies were under investigation for allegedly paying bribes, Chinese officials are the alleged recipients of bribes in 30 cases, followed by Brazil, India and Russia.